It's always happy hour when you consult your Spirit Guide. Your best friend for bar-hopping lets you in on the drink and food specials, tells you where the music is (and isn't) and helps you find the perfect spot. A great night out starts with Spirit Guide.

El Bruno's Restaurante y CantinaNew Mexican food in the Garduño’s vein—plus burgers and booze—in a bucolic valley setting. In fact, El Bruno’s does indeed occupy the site (and, one might assume, the demographic) of the former North Valley Garduño’s. (Alibi Staff, April 10, 2013)

AnodyneBest of Burque 2009 (Best Bar Staff): A diverse array of drinkers stops by for a cold one every night at the Anodyne. No matter what social clique you belong to or what your beverage of choice is, the staff at the Anodyne makes sure you get it fast. It only takes a few visits before the bartenders know what you want before you even ask for it.

Best of Burque 2009 (Best Bar in Which to Lay Low): This upstairs home-away-from-home noir bar is full of dark corners and pockets of mood lighting, perfect for remaining unseen. Slip in, drape your trench coat over the back of a barstool and ask the friendly, low-key bar staff for your usual. (Alibi Staff, December 23, 2010)

Artichoke CaféOnce your lunch or dinner at the upscale Artichoke Café has concluded, you’ve got to adjourn to the sexy new Wine Bar next door. The wine list is actually a leather-bound tome with a massive assortment of wines. Prices start at a decent $28 or $30 a bottle and zoom up into the upper stratospheres of frivolity, but you can also order select vintages by the half-bottle or glass. You'll love the front-facing "big city" windows, curvy wooden bar and comfortable seats. It’s open until 11 p.m. on the weekends, but beware: The kitchen stops serving at 10 p.m. No matter. It’s got one hell of a breadbasket, and, as our server once suggested, "You can fill up on the wine!" Don't mind if we do! (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010)

Burt's Tiki LoungeBest of Burque 2009 (Best Dive Bar): Technically speaking, a dive bar indicates an establishment of ill repute. Furthermore, while we're being technical, Burt's Tiki Lounge is a tiki bar. In any case, however rough around the edges it may be, we think Burt's is one of the city's finest places to wet one's whistle, and so do you. Plus, the bartenders make an excellent Mai Tai. (Alibi Staff, December 23, 2010)

Chama River TaproomThe bar seats about 20—it’s tiny and usually filled with regulars who are always happy to make room for one more. Four regular Chama River beers cover most of the bases for what you may want, and there are usually a couple of guest beers to round things out. (Alibi Staff, December 23, 2010)

Downtown DistilleryClimb what feels like 500 stairs and enter into a small, neon lit pool hall. In the era of internet jukeboxes, any song you want can blast through the speakers while you pool shark your way through the night. Order from the food trucks downstairs, and mix the best of both worlds: street food and jukebox pool. (Alibi Staff, December 23, 2010)

Farina Pizzeria & Wine BarAcross Edith from the Artichoke Café, Farina’s proximity to some of the most established fine dining in Albuquerque isn't an accident. Farina is the punked-up younger sibling of jazzy Artichoke Café, and it brings a tantalizingly direct message to the neighborhood: pizza, beer and wine, and all of it damn good. Sharp, concise and to the point, with 20 superb choices offered by the glass or bottle. Farina’s wine list is straightforward and focused. The bar is comfortable and every wine is perfectly matched to the kitchen’s chic pizzeria offerings. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010)

Ibiza at Hotel AndaluzThis rooftop bar, the flirty sister of the fancier (and pricier) Lucia, offers a breezy patio, a menu of small plates and specialty cocktails for the Los Angeles-inclined Downtown crowd. The food is hit or miss, but the house-created cocktails—like the spicy-yet-refreshing cucumber-jalapeño margarita—make it well worth a visit. (Alibi Staff, October 10, 2012)

LaunchpadBest of Burque 2009 (Best Rock Bar): In Albuquerque there are a handful of rocking places to rock, but when it comes to really rocking out to some sweet rocking rock, be it shredding, noodling, head banging or self-conscious toe-tapping, the Launchpad is where the magic happens. And Burqueños seem to think so every single year. Long live Launchpad! (Alibi Staff, December 23, 2010)

The Library Bar and GrillThe Library began as a concept bar a few years ago in Tempe, Ariz., catering to the lunch and dinner crowd, transforming in the later hours of the evening into a nightclub. The food is pretty standard bar fare with burgers and the like—but at least in this case you’ll be served by Catholic schoolgirl-attired waitresses, who, at prescribed times during the night, will dance on the bar mere inches from your taco plate. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010)

Marble BreweryMarble Brewery opened its doors in the spring of 2008, and since then it’s become a favorite haunt of Burque beer fans. Go in for a flight—10 little glasses of every beer on tap—and taste the meticulously brewed rainbow, each beer distinct and complex. Six-packs, bombers, growlers and kegs are good to go. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010)

SisterThe cavernous, ground-floor counterpart to Anodyne, Sister is a space tailor-made for happenings. This is a perfect spot for enjoying a quiet dip into the vast draft beer selection with your comrades after work or boogying to the multitude of live bands that occupy its stage nearly every night. (Alibi Staff, February 1, 2013)

Slate Street CaféModeled after a New York loft, Slate Street’s wine bar has an ultra-hip, modern, minimalist feel. This wine list is rhythmic, flowing and poetic, and it’s the most pleasurable to read and easiest to comprehend in Albuquerque. The wines are listed by style—“just a little sweet,” “ABC: Anything But Chardonnay” or “sexy, elegant, austere”—not varietal or region. Demystifying the label like this makes it easy for patrons to pair wine and food. The listings are simple, but not simplistic. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010)